Monday, January 19, 2015. Good morning to all my Facebook family of friends and kin. I woke up this morning thinking about a post I saw on Facebook a while back. It pictured a little girl holding a teddy bear; a tiny, tattered, torn, one-ear flopping, dirty, had seen better days, well-worn specimen of an object of tremendous affection, stability, and security. Jesus was kneeling on one knee in front of her with His hand stretched toward her. It was easy to understand the artist’s message. Jesus held a new beautiful teddy bear behind His back; probably ten times the size of the one she was holding. He was trying to coax the little girl into turning loose and handing over to Him her much loved friend and companion. Was she eager to do this? Absolutely not. She was struggling to decide. Can I trust Him with my most prized possession? There’s no question that she would have immediately made the exchange if she had been able to see the newer, improved version. I wonder – why didn’t Jesus just give her the new teddy bear? Why was it important that she turn loose and freely give Him the old one BEFORE she could see what He was going to give her in exchange? Familiarity and fear. The enemy of our soul tells us to hold on to the familiar because what we are going to get in exchange might not be as good as what we have now. Be assured this is a lie. When God holds His hand out to you and asks you to give something to Him, whatever He gives you in exchange will always be an upgrade from what you have now. He is not in the business of downgrades, downsizing, or limited functionality. So why doesn’t He make it easy and just show us the exchanges He wants to make? Because He wants to change our mindset; the mindset that says our security and stability lies within a job, or influential people we know, or how much money we have in the bank, what kind of car we drive, how many high-priced clothes and shoes we own, or how famous we are. Jesus is not at all concerned about these inanimate objects or positions of preference that we so often hold in such high esteem. Instead, He wants us to turn loose of these deceptive expectations of security and place our trust totally in Him. Trust develops and grows within us as we turn our affection toward Him. Our confidence in Him rises to new heights. Suddenly, we look around and take stock of our current situation and circumstances. In comparison to the former, we realize since we turned loose of the proverbial teddy bear we have lost nothing. There is only one reason this happens and it is the most profound reality of all time. And, that is “Jesus Loves YOU!”
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